Linnajazz Festival Club: Mike Wheeler (USA) & Highway

Suisto open 16:00-02:00. Ticket includes entry fee. Door tickets 28 €, if available.

Guitarist-singer Mike Wheeler is a central figure in Chicago blues. His voice has been compared to Sam Cooke's, and he has composed songs both for himself and for local artists such as Nellie "Tiger" Travis, Demetria Taylor, and Big Ray. Wheeler was a member of the legendary Big James & The Chicago Playboys, with whom he recorded five albums. In his solo career, he has released four albums, three of them on Delmark Records.

On his tours, Wheeler has brought Chicago's sound to Monaco, France, Switzerland, Spain, and Belgium, and shared the stage with Willie Kent, Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, George Benson, Jimmy Johnson, and Shemekia Copeland, among others. He was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame twice, in 2014 and 2019.

Wheeler is accompanied by Highway, a band of Finnish musicians: Jonne Kulluvaara (gtr), Jan-Olof Strandberg (b), Petteri Määttänen (drs), and Good Rockin' Kempas (voc/harp).